Since the inception of the Rural Doctors’ Settlement Package in 1988, Bega Hospital has been named within the hospitals eligible for that package. RDANSW believes that it remains as such. The newly named South East Regional Hospital (Bega) is located in a Modified Monash (MM) 5 region, thus more rural than most of NSW. In addition to this, SERH does not have a workforce adequate for a larger hospital.
As it currently stands, SERH (Bega) should remain on the RDASP list, and doctors employed there eligible for contracts under the package. RDANSW has not agreed to the removal of SERH from these arrangements.
Yours in rural medicine,
Dr Emma Cunningham
President
RDANSW